


The Curse of Family Values

by Crooked_imagining



Category: Black Panther (2018), Black Panther (Comics)
Genre: Erik is a literal black panther, Erik's got some growing to do, F/M, Leopard!Erik, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Reader is white for the narrative, Redemption, Slow Burn, Swearing, little bit of racisim, redemption arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:07:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23573620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crooked_imagining/pseuds/Crooked_imagining
Summary: The scars that mar the man before us,representing deeds that abhor us,We give the monster one more chance,To change his fate,To change his past,For every innocent he sacrificed,A deed must be done to save a life.Then and only then he can be saved,to make undone the deeds depraved.__________________________________________AkA: Erik is turned into a panther to save life for every scar he has, otherwise he's stuck in wakadan limbo forever. Reader is there to help him.
Relationships: Erik Killmonger/Reader, N'Jadaka/White!Reader
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1 (y/n)'s POV

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I'm sure somethings are gonna be offensive. That's the point, Erik is gonna deal with the other side of racism. Erik while written as a very motivated villain, is a horrible person. So yeah... we're gonna call him out for some serious shit. That's what redemption arcs are for.

It was a cold day in hell…

As in East Tremont had a freak cold front, so it's snowing. My car broke down, and I got outta work late. But hey, at least I had a decent coat…

just kidding. My apartment got robbed a week ago and I hadn’t had the money to replace my nice coat so I got this cheap-ass crepe paper shit that can barely keep me dry. But hey, gotta love new york! If it ain’t the world record beating crime, mortality, and homelessness that’ll get you runnin’ back, we got great broke ass apartments! I mean most have at least one leak in the plumbing, and depending on the neighborhood you could end up with a weekly window cost. The local gangs also bring a nice “welcoming feeling” to the neighborhood, as long as you've got $50 to spare.

Honestly, I wonder how anyone could willingly come here from outta state. Weirdly enough, people don’t wanna leave. Well at least enough of us are too proud to leave.

But I guess even with all that, this place still has some kinda charm. It’s gotta weird pull even I can’t figure out. It’s like a car crash, or a wildfire… Yeah like a wildfire, one where it’s been burnin’ for the last seventy years. But no one knows how it started, no one knows how to put it out. It covers this whole city, with more adding to it than trying to put it out. And I’m just an idiot with a spray bottle, trying to save who I can.

Back to what’s actually happening, I’m cold, shit coat, and I am soaked in half-melted snow. Grumbling to myself about how much I’d rather die than ever leave my apartment again. 

I work at a youth help center, just outside the industrial district. Which makes it either the perfect place or the worst place on earth for a YHC. 

But hey we get enough kids in to keep our doors open and my apartment in somewhat good shape, so I guess we’re doing ok.

Man this place is rundown, and is that a new bullet hole? Great, we just fixed the last one too… At least no one took our outdoor cafe lookin’ sign, that was a bitch to find last time. 

Work? Eh, it's all good, teaching kids how to paint instead of taking hits. It's like daycare and rehab all in one. All in all pretty standard for a YHC, at least in this New York...

Micah waved to me as I left, waiting for his dad to pick him up. He was much smarter than me… He brought an umbrella this morning.

Overall most of the walk home uneventful, well there was some asshole who tried to start shit with me. Good news: I didn't have any money for him to steal. Bad news: he wasn't looking for that.

God bless this pepper spray. That's all I can say.

I finally get to my building, sporting a brand new shiner from that creep.

"Fuckin' Mayor pussy, Benito shitface Whitbone and his pisspants goons." And I continue mumble swearing out the rest of my problems until I reach my apartment. 

I slam my way in after unlocking it. Only to step back out and slam the door shut.

  
Why the hell is there a  _ panther _ in my apartment?!


	2. Chapter 2 (Y/N's) POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasty words ahead.

I slapped a hand to my forehead in frustration. You have  **got** to be  **kidding me** .

First I get robbed and we have one of the coldest winters since the snap, then some dick shoots the display window for the center. Now I have a full-grown African black panther in my apartment…

Well, this day is turning out just **_perfectly_** **_._ ** All it needs is a synchronized mass genocide, oh… wait.

"He won't harm you," echoed a distinctly African disembodied voice.

"The fuck!?"

Aaaaand now my apartment complex is haunted…

"Don't worry I'm not here to stay, but he is," the voice echoed again.

"I'm sorry, but he? Who the hell is he?!" I asked. 

That's when the owner of the voice decided to appear, he looked old. He had caramel eyes and curly white wispy hair that came down to a thick curly beard. He had deepest smile lines I've ever seen. He was kinda see-through and glowing a soft purple.

"He is N'Jadaka my grandson, who is also the panther in your apartment." He spoke, with a cheeky smirk.

"I'm sorry, your what now? And are you dead? Cause ya look dead…" I said.

"My grandson, and I think you've already made that observation. Let's go inside, I will explain all that needs to be."

"If you think I'm going back in there you're fuckin' insane, he'll rip me apart!"

"He will not, he cannot. Is it apart of his 'redemption' he will not be able to lift a paw against you."

I stared at him, utterly confused.

"Let us just go inside, I will explain in detail." He said sighing.

"Fine, it's not like I've got much of a choice" I huff opening my door.

I stomp into my living room/kitchen the giant panther was now lounging on the area rug, fuckin’ bastard acting like he owned the place. That was until he saw me, that’s when the claws came out. The thing roared and lunged at me, I screamed and cowered away expecting nothing but pain. But he bounced off the air around me like he was hit with an electric shock. a loud roar of pain confirmed it for me. Granted that didn’t make me any less scared of him. So I decided that the kitchen counter and a large knife would keep me a little safer, or at least make me feel so. He was still growling at me, a deep thundering rumble that shook me to my core. I knew I was shivering, but I was terrified. This was almost completely out of my control. 

Gangsters? Got ‘em. 

Creeps on the street? Pepper spray.

Break in? I already got the 91 dialed. 

I even took some self-defense classes for people who wanna get in my face.

But a black panther in my kitchen? Nada…

That’s when the ghost floated into the room, stopping between the two of us. He looked at the panther with an exasperated expression.

“You just couldn’t help yourself could you?” He said with a sigh.

The panther continued to growl and hiss at me not paying the ghost any mind. I look at said specter.

“THAT WAS MORE THAN A PAW!” I screamed, letting out more of my fear than intended.

“I am sorry my dear, but as you saw. He could not touch you,”

“He got pretty damn close!” I exclaimed throwing my hands in the air.

“Yes, he did. But you can change that.” He said coming closer to me.

“What?”

“Try it, tell him to be quiet first. It’s hard to explain your role over all this growling.” He said eyeing the panther.

To be honest, I was rather sick of it too, and after the shit I’ve seen. It was worth a shot.

“Stop growling,” I commanded.

To my surprise, he shut up instantly. Granted that didn’t stop him from bearing his teeth at me.

“Get comfortable my dear you’ve had a long day, and we have a lot to talk about.” He said going to sit in my old armchair. I wearily took a seat on the couch, the panther started pacing between me and the ghost.

“My name is Azzuri, and this panther is my grandson. N’Jadaka, he is here to redeem the great sins of his past. You have been chosen as his guide.” He continued.

“I don’t need a guide,  **especially** not this  _ white whore _ .” The Panther snarled at me.

“THE FUCK YOU JUST SAY!!” I shriek. 

I don’t care if he’s a panther, or that he’s talking. NO ONE calls me a whore! 

Seeing red I clocked him, I don’t care if it’s considered animal abuse. Being a cat doesn’t give you a free pass to insult me. He shook his head and blinked at me. He looked surprised, not that I cared.

“YOU WILL NEVER CALL ME ANYTHING ELSE BUT MY NAME! GOT THAT YOU FURRY SHIT!” I bellowed in his face. “MY NAME IS (Y/N)! (Y/N)! And if you so much as  _ think _ another slur I’ll beat your ass so hard your grandpa’s gonna get a bruise! Now sit down and don’t say another word until I tell you to!” 

I take a step back from the big cat panting, I could almost feel the steam wafting off me. N’Jadaka sat down on his haunches, completely silent, but still glaring at me. I didn’t care anymore, whatever I could do to get outta this I’m gonna. I shoot a look at Azzuri, he looked a little shocked, and amused?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be in Erik's point of view. Which is why it's fairly short.

‘Fuckin’ b-’

“AUGH!”

Erik roars in pain, even the thought of insulting that  _ woman  _ made a sharp hot pain lance through his head. He didn’t agree to any of this...

“You will, you agreed to this. So you will see it out.” Azzuri said.

Erik sends Azzuri a murderous glare. Still unable to speak due to the command from (Y/n).

Azzuri just looks at Erik, his exasperation shown plainly on his ghostly face. Erik doesn’t much care. He, as usual, had bigger things to worry about, his ego for example. He laid down, resting his head on the plush carpet of the living room. That was until Azzuri decided to start explaining what was to happen to him.

“N’Jadaka will be staying with you during his trial period. As he needs to overcome some past _ prejudice _ .”

“Oh HELL NO!!” The woman protested. “I will not keep a fuckin’ panther! I don’t even think it’s legal to have a panther… What am I even supposed to do with him?!”

It would be a cold day in hell when Erik agrees with her, but that got him pretty close.

“With what the authorities have to worry about, I doubt anyone will notice a panther walking beside you.”

Erik huffed, rolling his eyes. There is no way he’s staying here, all he needs is to get away from her and get in touch with one of his more “reliable” contacts. Then he could figure out how to undo all of this, and get back to his revenge.

“Besides you and N’Jadaka are already linked, he will not be able to be more than 500 feet from you. Any attempts to breach this limit and he will be returned to your side.” Azzuri said.

Erik and Jane looked at each other, sharing a deadly glare.

“You are also required to help him with his task,” Azzuri said, giving them a chastising look.

“Task? What kind of task?” Jane asked.

“In order for him to truly return to the world of the living, he must overcome a great change of heart, and save a life for each one he ended. One for every scar on his skin.”

The woman looked confused, her blue eyes blinking in confusion, “Scars? What- oh….” The woman said, taking a moment to give Erik a closer look.

What she would have seen is small pale dots littering Erik’s upper torso, seeming to form a loose pattern. Though his fur was thick enough that you couldn’t really see it at first glance, Jane was now close enough to see them. Erik was proud of his scars, with each one representing a kill. A step closer to overthrowing the Wakadan king, and showing the world the power of his people. Make the others pay for what they did to his ancestors…

He won’t take this humiliation, getting help from this white woman. He’ll play nice for now, until he has a chance for escape. Then nothing can stop him from his goal.


End file.
